Roam Buffalo

The Harder They Come

2009-12-21T11:22:00.004-05:00

This saturday (26th)- the day after Xmas, I will DJing the annual Joe Strummer tribute show at the Mohawk Place entitled The Harder They Come. This is a great gig organized by Mr. Wolf Tickets, Chris Malachowski that includes a several bands playing Clash and Joe Strummer songs (mostly Clash songs). The headliner being a conglomeration of some of Buffalo's best musicians going under the name Rebel Waltz Orchestra and last year they had some Great Train Robbery horns to really flavor it up.

This gig was a packed house last year- some come early. Doors open at 8:00 PM and I will spinning the tunes between sets and prior to the 1st band. My set list includes a lot of dub, reggae, punk rock and various other grooves inspired by the late great Joe Strummer. Joe had a great liking for a variety of musical styles which his bands, The Clash and The Mescaleros incorporated in their groove.

A portion of the proceeds do go to Strummerville- the Joe Strummer Foundation For New Music (info here).

This year's poster (above) tries to pull the flavor of the title of the event (the Jimmy Cliff classic) and The Clash's love for NYC street music of the 80s- rap, dub and reggae with the boom box and the mohawked Strummer images. Always a sure bet with red, this years poster looks a bit minimal as compared to the past event posters. The fonts include the new P22 font, LTC Winchell and hand-cut looking face, and the chunky Poplar- one of my fav rock poster fonts.

POSTER GALLERY- You can see the full gallery of JS Tribute posters here I have created over the past 8 years by click here.

Hope to see you kids on the 26th, shaking off those Christmas day cobwebs.

Fantastic Voyage

2009-12-17T12:02:00.003-05:00

Happy Holidays from us all at the Roam Buffalo blog, Where to Roam and OtherWisz Creative. It is the holiday season- aka Clobberin' Time. Nuff said.

Classic 1974 Marvel Treasury Special- Giant Superhero Holiday Grab Bag courtesy of NateTrax.

Christmas Rapping

2009-12-14T22:11:00.018-05:00

The PANIC! Sale was not really panic-driven. I think it was still too ahead of Christmas for panic shopping. The throngs of shoppers who strolled through the main gallery of the Western New York Book Arts seemed pretty calm during the this second annual sale of WNY crafters, screen printers, jewelry makers, book makers, t-shirt designers, and artists alike.

I shot a few snap shots of the crowds in the gallery for you out-of-towners to see. Bonus props for Eric Morse, in-town for the holidays on vaca from his job in Hong Kong. First storm rolls in to remind Eric about BuffaloSnow!

We are working full steam ahead into the holidays with a lot of stuff going on. Gotta be careful to not slip right through the upcoming holiday with head buried behind the computer. The kids would be mad. I'll try to post some neat holidays photos as I might not have a lot to say. Rock on!

Shoppers shop & the boppers bop.

Super Rich and his accomplice Carima.

Crowd chatting, shopping & more. Out-of-town Eric and his glowing alien backpack talks with Kevin & Val.

More crowd with Sunnyoutside David in front- holding court, brewing espresso, selling books.

Jill runs the WhereToRoam booth (with Rich making sure all vendors are chillin', makin' buttons, brewin' joe & hot chocolate, etc.)....

Shopper approaches the W2R booth with hand on wallet.

Shoppers under high ceilings, big windows and joy in their hearts (I think).. See Hero booth across the way.

Looking West across the gallery space from Marti's head.

Crowbiz and her wares.

Crowbiz's Capitalist Pig was coated in Russian text during the show. Ready 4 sale!

Happy Holidays to you! Support & join the Western New York Books Arts Center!

Brand New Cadillac

2009-12-03T23:27:00.013-05:00

Last Minute Panic Holiday Marketplace- the revenge!

Panic! Revenge!

Sounds good?

Friday Dec 11, 4-8 pm &

Saturday Dec 12 12-6 pm.

Once again, we will be selling our Where To Roam tees, hoodies and scarves at the Western New York Book Arts Center's Last Minute Gift Buying Panic Marketplace. Buffalo artists, crafters, bookmakers, printers and graphic artists will be there. Come on down, it was very cool last

year. This appears to be the final run of these particular W2R Tees- so get 'em while you can before we run out! Collect them all! Trade with your friends!!

The event is being promoted with this super great hand printed poster designed and printed by P22 (& WNYBAC's) Rich Kegler. The poster is red and blue ink on an awesome silver card stock. I captured some details below (click for VERY large views). I am not sure if it was worth the $30 parking ticket I scored today? Go Buffalo!

The event will be at the main gallery, 1st floor of the Western New York Book Arts Center 468 Washington St at Mohawk in Downtown Buffalo on Friday Dec 11, 4-8pm and Saturday Dec 12 12-6pm. Free admission and open to the public- come for Friday Happy Hour or Saturday afternoon shopping. Perfect gifts for giving or hoarding. Hot item for this year? The W2R scarf- get it!

This year's Vendors include:

• Elizabeth Leader

• Crowbiz

• Hero Design Studio

• Donald Trainor/ Shiny Object Media

• Where to Roam (Us, yeah!!!!)

• Amy Greenan

• Rene Hoover

• SunnyOutside Press

• WNY Book Arts Center Shop and More!

Cool Poster Details: Click for larger view!

The Mix- the overlapping letterpressed blue and red make purple (kinda)....

Some cool detail art from the right hand strip of objects, knick-knacks and other graphical nuggets.

Windings, eat your heart out! Nice gourds, Gord.

Panic on the street of Buffalo! ha ha! Smiths! Ha!

Beat Dis

2009-11-26T09:22:00.004-05:00

dejablu, Scotty and I, are named-checked in Craig Reynolds piece about Buffalo, NY's DJ history, post 1990. It was very cool to get the little plug as our place in Buffalo DJ-history is noted.

When Scotty and I abandoned our rock-n-roll bar DJ gigs to started spinning records in Oct. 1997 on the corner of the bar at the Kingsnake on Chippewa, we would have never thought a whole scene was going to blow up around us. Delving into, what was later to be known as acid jazz, we played records on a Tuesday night. In our primetime we played such cool spots as the Kingsnake Lounge, 658, Osaka's Blu, O, Off The Wall, old Pink, Rendevous, Calumet Arts Cafe, the Tralf, Albright Knox Art Gallery, Mohawk Place, Daemen College Gallery, WNYBAC, CEPA Gallery, Allen St. Hardware, Third Room, Central Train Terminal, old Burchfield Penny Art Center, many more that I have long forgotten, and had a drink named after us, the dejablu martini!

The older I get, the more I wanna rock! Excerpt from the AV article:

"Atomic Cafe and the Kingsnake Lounge in the early years of the Chippewa Street resurgence were ground zero, attracting fashionistas and Elmwood’s denizens of cool, and later, Club e (formerly the Icon), 658 on Main Street, where the Knowmatic Tribe held residence once the Kingsnake closed, and the Opium Lounge, all opened their doors to electronic music. By now, there was a healthy community of experienced DJs, all pursuing their own personal styles—like DJ Zuk of Deep Soul Plug, who started playing cosmic lounge, and Dr. Wisz and Scotty, who as Deja Blu spun acid jazz."

> Read extensive AV article here.

> Click here for dejablu discography.

Let's Pretend We're Married

2009-11-22T22:19:00.010-05:00

Finding the right typeface for a logo takes a lot of courting before a commitment can be made.

There a lot of fonts out there to choose from when designing. Too many, some might say... But the subtleties that get missed by your average viewer are what make a font special. When you are designing a logo and you are making some logo-typeface decisions, you really start to notice those subtleties. By paying close attention, you notice the way a letter has it's own personality, each letter being a small part of a bigger family- which is more than just the alphabet but includes numbers, character, punctuation and assorted what-cha-ma-call-its.

When a typeface is being explored for use on a logo, you are really only concerned with a limited number of characters. For instance the 'OtherWisz' logo is built from Century Gothic- the 'less-square' cousin of Avant Garde. I need only worry about the o,t,h,e,r,w,i,s and z. I don't really need to care about the remainders- I simply didn't need to be bothered with the 'a' or pesky 'q'.

Let's Get Together
Certain letters that often follow each other in common words are build (originally drawn) to balance with each other, fitting within each other, often nestled together. But you can't rely on the set kerning (the space between the letters) of characters when building a logoface. When letters and words are set into a block of copy or paragraph, you are often at the mercy of that font's set kerning. And that is fine it this situation. But when you are dealing with a microcosm of each individual letter up against another letter- you can and should move them yourself. By moving the letters closer, or further from each other, you can work to achieve the right balance between letters and (even as important, if not even more...) the space between the letters. When an inexperienced graphic artist sets headlines or letters in a logo that often just type it 'as is' and let it be. Often ignoring the fact that certain letters just have to be moved manually-- for instance an 'A' next to a 'V'- newbie designers often leave enough space that you can drive a truck through.

Big In Japan
I am working on a logo design now and find in interesting some of the very subtle elements to the typefaces that I have chosen to work with. Some little things you would never notice until it is blown up HUGE! You think a character has a straight edge until you see it big and then notice it is all wavy. Is this done on purpose to add personality to a font or poor, sloppy design?

When I view newer fonts against the classics- and I mean fonts originally hand drawn, eventually converted to digital-- it seems more care may have been put into those old design. Now I don't mean every new font obviously- I have friends that are type designers and they put a lot of care into what they do, agonizing over every last element of a font. But often I will look at a recently designed FREE FONT and find it to be of poor quality when viewed in close. Free fonts are usually worth that, next to nothing. As well I should note that 'classic fonts that have been digitized' are at the mercy of the digitizer and the foundry that made them, certain subtleties have been known to get lost in the translation at times.

When designing a logo, take care to choose a typeface that has the personality you want and explore the font's history to get a sense of what the designer may have been thinking. Choosing the right font is a combination of character, style, quality and history, but sometimes it is just a lucky crapshoot. And of the million of fonts out there, you will find just one that is right for the logo you are designing.... or at least a half a good dozen alternatives!

NOTES:
The attached graphics are few of the latest logos we have designed at OtherWisz Creative. The top is the NannyPro.com logo built from Baker Signet, Aurther Baker's 1965 slight-calligraphic face. The second logo is for a new catering service for daycares, Cater Tots and it is built using a fatty- Rudolf Koch's Kabel (this is the 1975 computerized version). Lastly, we have the Tracy Diina Communications logo which is designed using Stone Informal, a font originally designed in 1987 to look good when printed on laser printers plus a subhead set in Adrian Fruitiger's wonderful Avenier 35 Light.

Between Something and Nothing

2009-10-26T21:59:00.010-05:00

or Behind The Wheel (Route 66)....

My work space goes from really messy to really neat in a few hours when planned company is set to arrive the following morning. We normally keep a pretty clean & tidy (dusted and swept) office space, but we got a lot of stuff and each working job has a folder (or several piles of folders) of stuff. If we are heavily into a few things at the same time, that means that every available flat space- and some not-- are covered in drawings, sketches, books, meeting notes, hand-written notes and well, just stuff. The bigger the job- the more stuff there is to it! Things get misplaced often with so much stuff around here.

So when we have a potential client paying us a visit, we have to spend a few hours dusting upstairs and down, vacuuming, mopping the concrete floor in the lower level, putting away records & CDs, and filing the stuff. This is good on two levels: 1st- it makes the office look snazzy in it's own cool design-studio-in-a-barn way, all sparkling, shiny clean, and 2nd- all the stuff gets reorganized. The 3-level bin on my desk being the happiest, as it gets de-stacked, un-crammed and filed. It is nice to have several meetings on the clean-the-office level in a row. More bang for your vacuuming-buck, for sure!

Everything Counts (In Large Amounts)

Though I have always heard it said that a 'clean desk is a sign of a sick mind' I must admit, I have felt it to be true. I don't have time to neatly organize things on a day-to-day basis. My daily desk grows to be piles over the week. Taking the time to plow through the piles, throw some things in some folders, throw some folders in the file cabinets- makes a world of difference in the long run. So I might be preaching a sort of 'messy-in-the-short-run' with a dose of 'neatness-over-time' method to all this.

I guess some people must see the value in everything organized all the time. Visually they may go as so far as to have cork or magnetic boards with everything evenly spaced, nothing overlapping. I think that would make me a bit nuts.... but I guess if I could find that phone number I thought I tacked up here... somewhere.....hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm. Shoot.

Groove Me, baby

Being the creative type I am stimulated by visual clutter. I like walls of postcards, photos, posters and stickers. I like shelves with miniature figures, knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, gadgets and geek toys. I really like books and magazines and listening to music (but I think I am digressing...). I need to see samples of colors combinations and moods set in photos and graphics around me, reminders of typefaces and design elements, techniques, styles and grooves. I guess my office gets the full mixmaster treatment - samples and clips of different things, unrelated visuals- existing in harmony- like a good mix tape that has a lot of different types of music.

I think most people/future clients that are looking for some sort of graphic, design or web service-- and have never been in a design office-- still know what to expect. A lot of people get a real charge about coming over here to the graphics company and some are, quite frankly, oblivious to it. No one has been shocked, so far (that I can remember).... Your average lawyer, doctor, etc. expects us creative folks to be a little nuts and wouldn't be surprised if they walked into our space and it looked like Pee Wee's Playhouse or a set on the '60s Batman TV show with a lot of angled windows and doors. So I think this attitude has given designers worldwide the right to have a nutty office- and it's expected! I don't think I could trust a neat and tidy designer with nothing on their walls... would you? What about a messy, colorful, movie-postered, rock-flyered lawyer's office?

Trans Europe Express

2009-10-12T20:52:00.002-05:00

Well not all of them....

Know Your Chicken

2009-10-05T22:25:00.031-05:00

Confessions of a Graphic Designer- part 45:

I was talking with a designer friend about why a smaller, 'boutique' firm is better that a larger agency-type of company. I have always heard freelancers say they 'can often juggle more that one ball at a time..." In our little firm, we are always working on multiple projects at the same time- sometimes juggling them. I was born into my work-life multitasking- circus-like!

Homefries For Church Folk

I've had a job ever since I was able to get my work permit at 16 (some 25+ years ago). At most of them, it was a balancing act of working on many things simultaneously. I am talking about my pre-design jobs, including my very first job of packing and un-packing trucks that took new clothing and sold it to senior citizens at old folks homes. Hey, I thought it was a kinda slow business model, but it gave the residents an afternoon of shopping and they were fashion conscious! Though we often spend time waiting around for trucks to show up, we were always packing, unpacking, pricing, counting, re-hangering... well you get it.

With a few jobs in between-- including lawn work, furniture delivery guy, pizza delivery guy for one day-- I found something I could do for the full 4+ years I went to the 'ol alma mater, Buff State. I started out as a dishwasher at the Sheridan Family Restaurant and worked my way up to a closing line cook. It was crazy fast-paced, and I learned to organize, evaluate hierarchy of importance, delegate tasks to my team and cook a breakfast steak in mere minutes. It was all about teamwork, moving fast, thinking fast and doing everything at once over and over again for several hours! Things could get hairy on a Sunday morning--post-church with a lot of hungry church-folks waiting in line outside to follow a helping of the Lord with a helping of homefries! Learning to think under pressure and solve problems was a valuable skill I learned while slinging soulvaki.

Computers Make Ya Go Faster

Once I moved into the now extinct, yet glorious world of digital pre-press- things happened even faster- it was the computerized '90s after-all. At The Retouchables, owned by airbrush master Dan Schuder, I would balance a slew of customer's jobs, checking files, troubleshooting, outputting film and making matchprint and dylux proofs... all while promising deadlines! It was early in the computer age & things moved at the speed of 800k floppy disks, all happening at once: Pow! Zoom! Click! Whirrr! I was born into the design business running as soon as I hit the ground and my restaurant experience really got me prepared to do so (Thanks, Nick!).

Better, Faster, Meaner, Leaner

So do you get a better, faster version when you use a small shop vs. a larger shop? In our case, I think you do. Often we have to switch gears on the fly and we are equipped to do so. You can go from sitting, thinking and writing a proposal (estimating time and doing math), to writing headlines for the ad we have to design right now because "...we forgot that was due today and we forgot to call you about!" But we'll do it, we like doing it. The next hour you are meeting with potential clients dressed up in a tie (the "Superman Suit," as Dan from The Retouchables used to call it), sitting, listening trying to impress. You can go from adding content to website template pages, resizing a large batch of photos, to suddenly having to slow down, clear your head, sit down and create with a pencil and paper. You know, really design.

I try to make it sound real exciting, and sometimes it is, but the point being is having the ability to keep it all organized, being able to switch gears to attend to a clients needs, and working on 2-3 things at the same time is a skill I am not sure I have seen in every designer I have met. I see it more in a smaller agency, where the owner is doing a lot of the work and see it less in larger agencies where a lot of people are good at doing a single task. They have experts that can do this and ones that can do that- but can they do more that one at the same time? How fast can they switch gears? Are they allowed to? Do they have to have it approved, fill out a change order, etc....

I guess I never realized when I was either inventorying blouses or deep frying fish on a Friday night that was learning skills that would become useful in your local octopus-limbed, ambidextrous graphic design team!

Agnostic Blues

2009-09-29T19:21:00.010-05:00

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but the Wolf Tickets CD artwork finally showed up at my door, and I gotta show it to you. I know I wrote that piece about the poster for the CD release gig and how I made the masthead graphic by hand, but I thought I would post some photos of the final CD packaging since I was pleased with the way it came out.

The graphics tell a sort of story as the front cover illustrates 'defiance' (man vs. tank), the inside j-card is the 'retribution' (cop beating kids) and finally the under-the-cd graphic illustrating the 'penance' (man in jail). I am not sure that's what I was thinking as I first began to work on this, but something made me link these images together and it fell into place as I was desiging it.

This CD job went through a lot of changes, as did the music and the band during the process. The back cover image was suppose to be the front. I was never keen on using the baby as the cover, but maybe it plays into the story as the beginning phase (the baby as early troublemaker...?)-- proceeding to the cover 'defiance' stage of life? I don't know. The whole thing just gelled in the end- the band, the music and the artwork.

Here Comes The Hell!

Front, inside flap and CD. What is black and white and red all over? Wolf Tickets!

Front with back.

Masthead on CD starring P22 Typewriter font.

Close up of masthead created with presstype (details here).

CD with inside flap with a snatch of title track lyrics (plus stars, and lots of 'em)...

Lyric sheet.

Back cover. Love vs. hate.

Tray card graphics. Oi!

BONUS BEATS- Nate's photos from the CD release party at the Mohawk Place.

Brand New Way

2009-09-23T12:47:00.008-05:00

We have tried to be very proactive with moving our design company full steam ahead- we have some new clients this Fall, some others on the horizon and a few prospects. My goal is to reduce my stress and time in the office. Ha! Do I really need to work nights besides working all day? I am hoping not. I think most people aren't used to working 9-5, stopping to have dinner and then going back for another bunch of hours. I am not complaining, that is just how it is. I am used to it, but I think it is starting to wear on me some. I am starting to see the value of getting good sleep nightly!

To reach this goal- we got to think ahead. I think what keeps this design boat, afloat is the continual planning, refining and just plain fine tuning. J. and I are always trying to improve our plan of attack to make sure it all runs smoothly. As we officially enter Autumn (yesterday)- the kids are back in school (I miss them already...). The balancing act of baby-stitters, summer fun (one minute an honorary Marshall at Fantasy Island Theme Park, the next in someone's board room) and kids hanging around the office-- is no more. It is just our team spending all our time creating good design... plus a lot of paperwork that makes this so-called "time creating good design" possible.

As a business, we have to attend to the things that are business-- I thought graphic design was going to be all fun and games! Coming up on 10 years as our own company forces us to look back on what has made this successful, but we have to look forward as to what will keep it successful. We have to stay ahead of the trends in marketing and design, make sure our clients are happy and make sure we aren't killing ourselves in the process.

The elusive free time is a really good goal.... and if we plan correctly, maybe it can be obtainable. Suggestions...?

Streetlife

2009-09-15T22:49:00.012-05:00

...me and my Buffalo Sabres, yeah, yeah, yeah...
-- We're Gonna Win That Cup

While designing an upcoming exhibit for the Buffalo Hockey Experience and Museum I have had access to some great hockey memorabilia. We are trying to brand the exhibit with some appropriate graphics, so I have been doing my research through the collection's archives. One of the first things BHEM's founder, Dr. Joe, handed me when I met him last year was a 1972 program from a Sabres-North Stars game.

This old blue program, this one treasure (it was a keeper, sports fans) had been a big part of the inspiration when working on the initial logo and the overall brand of the museum last year. It is full of great poorly printed photos, stats and hand typeset stories of the 1972 Sabres' hockey club.

This program has also been a great look into the Queen City herself in the early '70s. The ads for Buffalo shops, department stores, bars and restaurants give you a peek into nightlife in general. These are places I have only heard about and one that is still here: No Names (at right). The ads sure are pleasingly retro, baby! So I scanned a bunch of them to share.

More on the upcoming History Museum event later...
but for now- Ladies & Gentlemen- Buffalo, NY 1972.

Wild West Saloon in the Statler Hilton Hotel. "Bring the Bunch for Brunch!" Yee-ha.

This is kinda wild west as well, did 1972 Buffalo have a lot of saloons with spitoons?

I love this one, this guys outfit just says 'hockey player' (or Doug Henning)... outfitted by Ron, Frank and Gino.

Every other drink is 1/2 price... care to join me for a 'businessman's lunch?'

The Keyhole for the fashionable young man. They have it all: flare slacks, blue denims and belts!

The finest in what we used to call 'professional entertainment' for your dancing and listening pleasure...

The legend, Twin Fair, there used to be one in my neighborhood across from the whale car wash.

Mohawk Riot

2009-09-08T20:09:00.010-05:00

The Hell Cometh

My latest rock poster design is for the upcoming Wolf Tickets CD Release Party at the Mohawk Place on Friday, Sept. 25th, 2009. I was pleased as to how this one came out, so I thought I would write about the process of creating it.

This design was based on the CD artwork which I developed earlier in the Summer. The CD art will see the first light of day (or should I say, dark of the inside of the 'Hawk) the Friday of the show. All the stuff I have done for head-Wolfer Chris Malachowski have 2 things in common: stars and the color red. It just always seem to fit what I do for the band.

The CD title is Here Come The Hell and I played around with creating a title graphic for some time for this project starting with the CD. I tried to find a font that was punky and sans serif. I use serif-less fonts often in rock posters, often relying on the Futura family (love that Extra Black!). From a distance, I think they are more readable.

I couldn't find a font I wanted to use for this and I was getting tired of manipulating the typeface in photoshop- so I decided to go old school. I pulled out some old decrepit Lettreset Presstype (Helvetica Medium) and started to hand-set (or rub, I should say) the album's title. The sheets were old, crackly and the letters didn't stick very well- but I loved it!! I overlapped a few characters which a second burnish to cover pieces that fell off after not sticking. Kerning characters by eye, as well as lining up/overlapping them manually created the offset to the characters that I was looking for. Once I was happy with this built up art, I scanned it into Photoshop and adjusted the levels so the background became white and the characters solidified tonally. Also I filled in some of the missing pieces to hold together the integrity (ever so slightly) of the letter forms. I made a 600 dpi bitmap TIF file and dropped it into my cover image on the CD of the tanks. It was reused on this poster design. And there you have it- by hand, punk rock!

The use of P22 Typewriter font was exactly what WT requested. This typewriter-themed font style has become popular with punk rock designers for ages so it fit the bill. It also has a hint of a quasi-military feel-- M.A.S.H. did the same thing for Stencil fonts. When I stared to add elements and text to the piece I decided to make the CD title art huge (it is proportioned about 400% larger that on the CD cover) to draw attention to this catchy name 'Here Comes The Hell' (no exclamation point needed). So if you can imagine this full size (see link at bottom), you can read the title from 15 - 18 ft. away. I added a few more stars to keep with the WT brand and decided to give the whole thing a rougher look by framing the large, manipulated, color-tweaked photo in a sharp-edged frame giving it the 'viewed through a broken window pane' aesthetic.

I took a few extra steps to further distress a couple elements. I upped the font size of a few characters and added a bolder stroke to others. Some of the letters moved up a hair and a few down a hair creating some motion, some uneasiness and a bit (ever so slight) of drama. The main manipulated image borrowed was a square photo so I had to do something to fit it in the 11 x 17" format. By simply copying a chunk of the top of the photo, flipping it and pulling it out like taffy, I was able to fill the space with a ghostly shadow which almost looks like smoke. If you notice above the 's' in 'comes' there is a repeat of the tank antenna. I didn't bother to stamp it out as it looked natural as part of the background behind the large title. Happy accidents, eh?

There you have it. Click here for a large PDF (4.2 MB) of the the poster or go authentic punk: go to the show and tear a poster from the wall of the 'Hawk as a souvenir. That is the greatest compliment to any poster designer.

Oi! See ya on Sept. 25th at the Mohawk!!

BONUS BEATS: Wolf Tickets on MySpace (hear 'em!).

Autumn Beds

2009-09-06T11:50:00.005-05:00

I 'heart' work.

Holidays seem to stunt the growth of the business. I know I have been writing a lot about 'not' working lately, but I have been working a lot... really... well, as much as I can-- what with vacation, days off, long holiday weekends, etc... This is the time last year when things seemed came to a screeching halt, due to a lot of unforeseen circumstances. Somehow we survived and trudged on.

This year I am trying to be proactive and stay focused as the year approaches it's close. I have been looking at this week the same way I approached the start of a new year. By this I mean, I am trying to concentrate on prospects, I am trying to stay psyched, and I am trying to look to September like a new beginning. Why not?

How, you may ask..? I am doing this by calling a lot of clients- trying to see what they have planned for the rest of the year- pulling the 'duds' off the lead board and just keeping some of the likely prospects up there and cleaning my desk. That last one is a tough one. This means I have to find a place for everything from the trays & piles on my desk. This includes bits of paper with phone numbers, stray job notes and graphics, post-it-notes, phone log slips, photos, and other assorted what-have-you-nots. I hate cleaning up.

So as I sit in the office on a holiday Sunday (against my better judgment), I think I can wrestle some success from the remainder of this year. By trying to stay focused, not slacking, and keeping the boat afloat, I think we will successfully ride out the waning tip of this recession with a good year. This time, 2010 begins with Sept. 1.

NOTE: Illustration by FEW ©2009.

On and On

2009-08-27T08:37:00.002-05:00

No phone calls, no email message dings, no TwitterBook posts....

no hours in front of the computer...

Getting away from it all makes it all seem worth it. I haven't been able to totally disconnect, but I am putting a good effort in. The shop seems to be running smoothly without us.... well, with a little direction from the man in the woods.

This week has been filled with: campfires, hiking, cooking and eating, eating and eating.... playground trips, horseshoes, gathering wood, fishing, Terry Farrel Jim Beam, Bass Ale in the woods, pie-iron cooking, marshmallows, trees, grass, waterfalls, star-filled sky and rainbows. Well, I just threw that last one in, it sounded good....

We'll see you kids back in the city soon!

Fields of Joy

2009-08-17T09:48:00.008-05:00

I can see clearly now the rain has gone...
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun shiny day.

The month of August has become our official OW vacation month. It is not that we stop working and leave town, we just take it (a little) easy. August includes: a few long weekends, some days off with out-of-town guests sightseeing, and trying not to work on Fridays- well only 1-2 hours anyway.

We do get away for a few days to go camping, but followers of this blog know that:

the laptop comes on the trip
the office is staffed while we are gone
and I am in contact via phone and email

I can't just shut down completely, can I?

While running our own gig, we really need to be reachable at all times. We have a lot of help doing the OtherWisz show (as a client once called it), but it's my ass if something goes wrong. And I can't pull a Stefan Sagmeister and:

close my business down for a year
go on sabbatical
make art
come back & pick up as if nothing has happened....

Now, I am not complaining, I signed on for this 'graphic design thing'. But a strange thing has happened: I re-discovered the weekend. They are like a mini-vacation- one in every week! And this 'weekend thing' really peaks with Summer in August- now we really got something.

I have had several periods in my life where I had a full head of steam. I worked during the week, worked nights freelancing, had DJ gigs on the weekend (often both a Friday and a Saturday night) and it just kept going. But after almost 10 years of just doing this-- running the design business-- I have all but stopped working on the weekends. This is the way it was meant to be and I like it. Weekends!! Yeah!!!

This 'weekend thing' just sort of happened. Now I really look forward to the weekend. I am usually getting fired on Thursday nights... I'll work late on a Thursday anticipating the weekend, then I am free once Friday night hits. I mean, I can still send some emails over the weekend, perform some quick website maintenance/updates, maybe read some documents... but I don't want to. Unless, of course, I absolutely, absolutely have you (see the above point about "...it's my ass if...").

So now a great month like August comes along and it has a good solid 4 weekends in it. This is like 4 vacations in the same month. These vacations include cutting the lawn and gardening, but hey, it beats sitting in front of this computer. I don't really think the 'word' computer and 'vacation' should be in the same sentence.... Once I can break that chain, we can really be free for that month off in Italy or Spain. Now that sounds like a good idea!

But for now I can float through Summer relaxing and really targeting these weekends for maximum fun. For the rest of the month I will be building websites, playing outdoors, reading RFPs, walking to the Saturday market, writing proposal & meeting notes & agendas, camping & hiking, marketing & promoting things, hanging at the waterfront & eating ice cream, writing letters & articles, laying in the yard hammock, camping, did I mention camping? Not so bad.

Don't You Forget About Me

2009-08-09T20:16:00.005-05:00

RIP- John Hughes

Director John Hughes passed away last week and I offer my 15 favorite quotes from Breakfast Club (1985) as a tribute. I also love Ferris Buellers Day Off and Sixteen Candles, but B.Club meant a lot to kids of my generation. I was one of the sterotypes in this movie.

Top Breakfast Club Quotes

15) Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns.

14) But face it. You're a neo maxi zoom dweebie, what would you be doing if you weren't out making yourself a better citizen?

13) Stupid, worthless, no good, goddamn, freeloading son of a bitch. Retarded, big mouth, know-it-all, asshole, jerk. You forgot ugly, lazy and disrespectful. Shut up bitch. Go fix me a turkey pot pie. No dad, what about you? Fuck you. No dad, what about you? Fuck you. Dad, what about you? Fuck you.

12) Hey, how come Andrew gets to get up? If he gets up, we'll all get up, it'll be anarchy.

11) We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all.

10) Hey, homeboy, what do you say we close that door, we'll get the prom queen impregnated.

09) Well, Brian, this is a very nutritious lunch. All the food groups are represented. Did your mom marry Mr. Rogers?
Uh, no. Mr. Johnson.

08) You're an idiot anyway. But if you say you get along with your parents, well, you're a liar too.

07) What if your home... what if your family... what if your *dope* was on fire? Impossible, sir. It's in Johnson's underwear.

06) Just me. Just you and me. Two hits. Me hitting you. You hitting the floor. Anytime you're ready, pal.

05) The next time I have to come in here I'm crackin' skulls.

04) When you grow up, your heart dies.

03) Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place.

02) You know what I got for Christmas? Oh, it was a banner fucking year at the old Bender family. I got a carton of cigarettes. The old man grabbed me and said, "Hey, smoke up Johnny."

01) Could you describe the ruckus, sir?

BONUS BEATS: Breakfast Club trivia

NY TImes (Aug.17) Quotable John Hughes Video Clips

Fancy Footwork

2009-08-02T10:39:00.010-05:00

I always get a kick out of the johnny-come-lately reporting of the local newspaper. They always seem to be months, if not years, behind trends that have been-and-gone in other larger, national papers. Sunday's (Aug. 2, 2009) BuffaloSnooze had an article about a new 'Virtual Office' ad agency in town. The story was written about this great new concept that is challenging the big boy ad agencies on town. The Virtual Office involves hiring freelancers instead of having a staff. Sorry boys, old news....

For almost 10 years our company, OtherWisz Creative, has been one of many 'virtual offices.' In fact, the invention of the laptop computer was designed to free us all from the cubicle world-- the laptop computer had born the original virtual offices. As well, wireless technologies let us break even further from the tradtional office space.

OtherWisz Creative has always been a lean mean, designing machine using freelancers. Our staff is small and our work is big, hence our tagline "Little Firm Big Solutions." By doing all the creative ourselves and outsourcing everything else- from photography, writing, illustrating, programming and software development- we have always kept overhead low. This has also enabled us to pick the right individual for the right job or task. Each project always had the best-of the-local-best working on it- all under the OtherWisz name.

Working as a virtual office always seemed to fit how we operate, and it works. As the death bell tolls for the big agencies in town, companies are taking more notice of the little and middle-sized players. Stand, a local advertising agency was the latest big shop to close, and it would seem, others are due to follow.

I guess this way of operating isn't 'news' until someone puts a tag on it (hence, the Virtual Office).Who needs a physical office space at all anymore..? We can communicate via the internet, meet with clients in their office (more convenient for them), post proofs and comps online for review... even get paid electronically. We actually like having a physical office space- our 1885-era converted barn is a creative stimulus in itself- but we don't need really need an office. Things have changed drastically in this industry, but contrary to what the BuffaloSnooze reports, the Virtual Office isn't new.

Saturday Night Fish Fry

2009-07-23T23:51:00.010-05:00

Hey, all you kids, you graphic-design kids! Hey! Don't steal graphics off the internet to use on your website or brochure designs. You are gonna get caught!!

No, go back to the past... in fact, go so far back, that the art is no longer under copyright protection. Let's use some clip art from the 1930s and 1940s. Oh yeah, express common ideas and popular subjects like: holidays, sports, the weather, retail sales & specials, religion, and (still big these days) the depression. Oh, if it was good enough for your great Grandpa's commercial artist, it is good enough for you.

Design like the olden days: print out these nifty illustrations, trace them onto your art boards with one of those newfangled carbon tracing paper easel thingies... and by-cracky, you'll make 'em laugh with your play on words! Ha!

I have had this pack of Heyer Cartoon and Idea Book miniature illustrations for ages and I haven't used them yet... though I still plan on it. The box announces '85 pages, printed on one side and easy to trace with 575 cartoons'... these are the Microsoft Word Clipart of the early twentieth century. These are great-- they are crisp, black and white line art with hand lettering headlines and taglines. There could be a new font design in here someplace. You can't go wrong with these little bits of history. There are a few that are racey and a few that are a racially insensitive-- like the Warner Bros Cartoons from the same era that need disclaimers and apologies today-- but I'll save those for another day.

Now who is going to scan all these and vectorize them so we can share them in the future?

Big time- $1,000 all in coins!

I am not even sure what this means....

Crazy baby-faced man robs bank (while holding giant sugar cube)!

If he's gonna be there, I think I'll leave early....

For Those About To Rock: savings so amazing, it is like a giant ice cream cone for a weird old man kid!!

Old timey fun: catch the skinless cat and then let him go in a crowded theater!
Oh, 'It's Out,' baby.

Summertime

2009-07-18T07:31:00.007-05:00

It is easier to design in the Winter. In the Buffalo Winter, it's cold outside, you are in the house more, and you tend to spend more time in front of your computer... In the Summer it is tough to commit to sitting still.

We have such a small window of truly wonderful weather that you want to be out, out, out. In the Winter, I can even sneak a few weekend working hours in. But in the Summer? No way.

When I first got into this business, it used to be typically slow in the Summer. The theory being (and the old timers will attest to this) was the decision makers in large companies (CEOs, Big Bad Bosses, etc.) were all on vacation in the Summer so decisions were not made, and nothing could get signed off on, in regards to developing marketing materials. The advertising and marketing field had a 'season' where things got designed and developed in the Fall and were produced in the Winter for the Spring marketing season. Ask any printer you know, who has been around for more than 12-15 years, and they will tell you all about this.

But this is not so anymore. Bosses take vacations all year round, people are work-a-holics and never stop and there isn't a 'season' in this field anymore and hasn't been for ages. It has been a busy Summer, and the fact that I haven't blogged about anything since the Prince piece- which was more that 2 weeks a ago- just goes to prove that fact. It is not that I haven't had anything to say (read: complain about) it has been quite a pile of work piled upon us. Not complaining, mind you, just explaining.

All this makes it hard for a small, family shop like ours to get away. We have a camping trip planned, but as anyone who was reading this blog over the last few years knows, the computer comes on the trip. I can usually work via email just a bit to keep thinks rolling. So with Summer in full swing, we try and squeeze a lot into our free time (which never involves the computer or TV)... If I am not working, I am going to try to get in a walk, bike ride, a trip to the park with the kids, campfires, bar-b-cues, parties, a few outdoor rock shows, but no beach or pool-- it has been a bit chilly this Summer. So the Summer has been a "work-work-work-work-all week", and a "relax-play-relax all weekend" and then back to the "work-work-work-thing".

As the company continues to grow, maybe someday I can do less of the 'work' and more of the sitting back and watching.... maybe I can be of of those bosses that leaves for a month in Europe with his family, while the self-sustaining business runs itself with some capable employees?.. I will surly blog about that.

Take Me With U

2009-07-01T21:00:00.012-05:00

"Nobody would have the balls to do this. You just wait -- they'll be freaking."
-- alleged Prince quote as he erased the bass track to 'When Dove's Cry' while in the recording studio.

Flip the cassette, I told my brother and he did. We were back at the beginning of side one. The strains of a church organ came pouring out of our boom box and it wasn't gospel music we were listening to. My brother and I were helping my Dad and his work buddies set up the 1984 Buffalo Car Show at the Buffalo Convention Center.

”Dearly beloved we are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called life ...”

It was one of the first times the Car Show was at the Convention Center, upgrading from it's run at the Eastern Hills Mall. The place was vast and I had never been in an a building of this size- it was like an empty concert stadium. At that very moment, my brother and I were not doing much helping, but waiting for the giant boxes of ramps, stands, banners and catalogs to get delivered up on the floor-- and listening to rock music. Funky rock music.

"...Electric word life It means forever and that's a mighty long time But I'm here 2 tell u There's something else The afterworld...."

And we were listening to not just any funky rock music, but the soundtrack to a movie my little brother and I saw the previous week. The Kmart-bought cassette tape had little in the way of liner notes, but the cover featured our hero on his motorcycle- a long haired, purple clad soon-to-be-rock star straddling a purple motorcycle parked in a foggy alleyway. A mysterious, dark haired, buxom woman stood behind him on the fire escape. My brother turned it louder.

"A world of never ending happiness
U can always see the sun, day or night

So when u call up that shrink in Beverly Hills
U know the one - Dr Everything'll Be Alright
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left
Ask him how much of your mind, baby

'Cuz in this life
Things are much harder than in the afterworld
In this life
You're on your own

And if de-elevator tries 2 bring u down
Go crazy!"

The music was large and it filled our corner of the mostly empty Convention Center. Since no one was watching my brother or I, we went 'oh no, let's go crazy' and started to jump around like mad, throwing up our arms, air shredding..... My dad came over and asked if we were planning on helping today.

This Summer, 2009, marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the movie & soundtrack to Purple Rain. I have a certain affinity for this record and the movie that changed my life as an 18 year old fresh out of high school in the Summer of 1984. I was really always into music and I had a Dad that had a good record collection of 70s rock to help me out. But Prince and Purple Rain was the first thing that was new, weird and different for me. It was mine. My parents didn't like it, I did. Turns out a good portion of the world liked it too.

I thought Purple Rain was the greatest rock movie I had even seen and I loved the LP. Up until that point I may have seen Help, Yellow Submarine, some Monkee's episodes. But nothing like this. This was a rock movie. It had live rock scenes with scorching gueetar work, people dressing strange and slightly punkish, sex, motorcycles and a misunderstood artist with a frilly shirt and a pencil-thin mustache.

Here are the Top Ten Things I Learned From Purple Rain (Looking Back at The 25th Anniversary):

10) Rock can be funky and funk could rock.

09) And said 'funk songs' could exist (quite funk-ily) without the bass guitar. Sacrilege? No, genius.

08) Sometimes when your good, you are really good.
In the summer of 1984, for a moment in time, Prince had the #1 single, #1 album and #1 film in the U.S. Dang.

07) Great movies often have bad sequels.
Although Graffiti Bridge was not officially a sequel (you are not fooling me), it has a lot of the same characters, the same city, same theme- and it was really bad. Really bad.

06) Purple is the best color.
Ask any king or prince.(or any guy with an unpronounceable symbol 4 a name).

05) Think quick under pressure and you may be able to pull it off.
Protégé starlet Vanity very famously left the project just prior to filming, leaving Prince to cast the unknown Apollonia Kotero as his own love interest. She became an overnight star-- for 1 movie.

04) Backward lyrics are misleading and mysterious.
At the end of Darling Nikki: "Hello, how are you? I'm fine, 'cause I know that the Lord is coming soon. Coming, coming soon." If only Tipper knew....

03) It is cool & useful 2 use numbers 4 words.
Hello, all U twitter-ers and text-ters. Ha, gotcha. Thanks Prince, you visionary.

02) Song lyrics can change the world.
“Darling Nikki” was the track that made steam come out of Tipper Gore's ears and sent her on a personal vendetta to clean up pop music-- ultimately resulting in the Parental Advisory stickers that pepper albums to this very day.

01) When the world seems against you- just be you and persevere and you will come out on top.
Example: one minute Billy says to The Kid, "Nobody digs your music, but yourself...."
The next minute: the crowd is swaying, girls are crying, and lighters are in the air!

Bonus Beats-
Download SPIN magazines free collection of the LP being covered by other bands.
Six of the nine songs are good, Purplish Rain (secret word: "guy")
Highlights: “Take Me With U” Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and “I Would Die 4 U” Mariachi El Bronx

Other Links-
• Pop Matters Magazine- 10 stories celebrating PR
• Minneapolis Historic Society- Prince archives
• NPR story on PR

Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun

2009-07-01T10:51:00.004-05:00

I haven't written much as I have gotten buried under a pile of work and home things. Summer is here! You can tell because Target is bringing out the school supplies... yikes!

This is the transition week. The kids are fully off from school and hanging around a lot. J. and I must do the balancing act of trying to work, keep the kids busy and not go crazy. She will work in her summer office more- aka the kitchen or living room (thank you, wireless technology)-- and I will be in and out a lot.

The kids are pretty self-sufficient, but they don't want to hang around in the office all day. They are both artists, so they can paint, draw, build, create, construct for a while- but that isn't going to last all day. Either J. or I will take them out for a portion of the day: park, cheap movie, walk, waterfront, running errands, etc. Last year we had a friend-teacher-nanny situation and that worked great. This year we are 'winging it' with mixed results, but not so bad so far (3 days in...).

I remember when my Mom worked on Saturdays as the bookkeeper at the Colonial Court Motel on Niagara Falls Blvd. and she would begrudgingly drag me and my brother along with her many times. We would play in the hotel lobby with our GI Joe or Matchbox cars, or explore in back where there was a bit of woods, have lunch and generally hang around. I think we managed pretty well..

Owning a family business puts the kids around more that not during the Summer. We try and keep them away from the TV and the convenient babysitter computer as much as possible. But even the educational programs (PBS kids, StarFall, etc.) still render them starting at the TV or monitor and I don't think that is really doing them that much good.

I am trying to teach my kids to be self-entertaining and, so far, I think they are really good at it. And if I have to take them out more-- good! An occasional trip to the park, to push someone on a swing is very therapeutic for me as well. It is calming, it is good to get away from this here computer and I think in the long run, the time spend with my kids is building a strong bond that will last forever... or until they become parent-loathing teenagers. I guess we'll see.

Caught, Can We Get a Witness?

2009-06-17T22:43:00.007-05:00

I had an appointment the other day that was a no-show. I take it as a bit of a slight, a sign of lack of respect... They called to apologize (kinda) much later after we were suppose to meet, but after I called to see where they might be. I was not happy about this. Even worse though, the meeting was at 4:00 and I often knock off at 4 to hang with the kids/cut the grass/maybe help with dinner.... I take an average of a 4-5 hour break and come back to work for 3-4 hours in the evening. So blowing me off on my down time, it was bad enough the meeting was scheduled during my downtown, sheesh.

I run along the lines of some old school business philosophies. I have learned from the best. I always write people letters, thank you notes, follow ups. I am professional, I try and explain things as clearly as I can, get it all in writing and I do my best to show up on time for meetings. Occasionally, I may be a few minutes late and I feel pretty embarrassed when I can't make it at the set time. My time is valuable so I try not to waste others.

I wonder, as technology advances and as business gets less and less formal, where do the old time practices, respects and standards of operations end up? Do they disappear completely? Do people have formal business meetings over their cell phone or tweat, twitterize or twext each other? As meetings have moved from the conference room to the coffee shop, has this trend weakened the connections and partnerships people make...?

I would much rather meet someone face-to-face if I am going to do business with them. But I have, a few times over the last year or so, successfully completed some design projects where I have never met the client face-to-face. I know this is common with freelance illustrators and writers, but I have a bit of a hard time with it. Talking to someone in person gives you a better feel for them and this is especially valuable when meeting first time clients.

I may be at the end of a dying breed of business folk trying to hold on to some old school practices, but I have found them to work. I think people can appreciate the professionalism (especially from a creative type- some people think we are wacko), and I am going to keep meeting you in person. We'll talk about the next project, we'll chat about our kids, common interests (hockey, rock, RZA, etc.)... and we'll shake hands. Go ahead and twit, tweet or tweather me, I'll call you back and we can set up a time to meet. In person.

Photos: kid shot photograph of lawn about to get schooled, old schooled... and Bobby Digital, he'll always meet you on time, and kick your azz!!

One of My Submarines

2009-06-10T23:23:00.015-05:00

Write/Paint

Back in 1984 when Apple revolutionized the world of personal computing with the Macintosh computer I was graduating from Tonawanda High School. I took several art and design classes from my favorite teacher William DeGlopper including photography, graphic design, illustration, plus a printing course (in shop class, no lie) but no computers. I continued my path as a designer enrolling into Buffalo State College the same year and ran through their design program-- with some journalism tossed in. The closest I came to a computer was word processing at the The Record, the school paper. When I first came into touch with a computer that could be used as a design tool, the decade was coming to a close as the 90s began.

The first Mac I actually used to design was a bit more advanced version that the one here (SE-30)... barely... It was this same size. And though I didn't carry it around in a little sack riding in my bike's basket, I did carry it around from my job to my house. It seems funny to lug this big box around, but this little machine was actually pretty compact for it's day and age. It is interesting how computers went from this, to bigger desktops and back to a small size in its life cycle of 25 years so far.

I have a couple of these little Mac SE-30s boxes and I love the information, instructions and photos in the manual. Last year I posted a piece about the the fonts that came pre-loaded (er, I mean you had to load them yourself from a small floppy disk) on this machine and another one about using the state-of-the-art MacPaint.... this time I chose to show you the 'lifestyle' photography from the original Mac manual.

The images are pretty humorous in their authentic '80s office style and preppy, white guy-ness. The shot with the guy in his office late at night with his sweater around his neck is priceless. It's marketing like this-- with its uber-80s geek-ness-- that kept the rock poster designers from using computers... and probably it's list price of $4,400 ($4,900 with hard drive). Think about what sort of computer you can get today for four grand!

Quick note on the carrying case: "... Your Macintosh will fit under the seat in most commercial airplanes. and in the overhead compartment of others.." Try carrying this thing onto a plane today, let alone getting in UNDER the seat!

A little tickle to get it started, adjust the brightness and you are computing!

Why is this man's collar down? You can tell by the look on this guys face he is crunching numbers. Internet porn had yet to be invented but the calculator watch had.

The ease-of-use. Big desk, littel computer: a couple dudes working in their law office or someplace businessy like that.

The sexy. After hours '80s dude chillin', catching some UV rays California-stylee.

The traveling computer: Packing it up to go... city awaits in the distance.

Bicycle Race. ... and then going, with the little mac riding up front in the basket. Jealous guys looks on from shadows.

Hello, aren't I beige. Love me.

Cryin'

2009-06-09T20:02:00.005-05:00

T-Shirt Of The Week #13: PRINT Magazine
Yellow and red art on black tee

This is my weekly feature on a favorite t-shirt that I own, number thirteen. This one tells the story about being a graphic artist. Four of the little artist dude in the circles are stressing out: scratching his head, sitting and worrying, crying his eyes out and placing a gun to his head surrounded by crumpled paper- bad ideas, perhaps? The fifth dude is jumping for joy and tossing money... Is this not the true tale of the artist?... 80% struggle, pain, suffering, 10% satisfaction.

This was a free shirt I got when I renewing a subscription to PRINT magazine ages ago. The artist is none other than Mr. Chris Ware, creator of the amazing ACME Novelty Library comic book series**. I always loved the tale it tells without words- it is open to interpretation don't cha know.... I have felt like this guy for most of last week and I am waiting for the 'jumping in the air with money' day... will it be tomorrow..? I am hoping.

** Thanks to Paulk in hotlanta for filling in the artist for me... I knew the work, but didn't know his name... so stoopeed of me.